St John the Evangelist's Church, Greenock
| St John the Evangelist's Church, Greenock | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 55°57′17″N 4°46′13″W / 55.9548°N 4.7702°W | |
| OS grid reference | NS 275,766 |
| Location | Union Street, Greenock, Inverclyde |
| Country | Scotland |
| Denomination | Scottish Episcopal Church |
| Website | [1] |
| History | |
| Consecrated | 28 November 1878 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Category B |
| Designated | 13 May 1971 |
| Architect(s) | Paley and Austin |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1877 |
| Completed | 1878 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Glasgow and Galloway |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Revd Canon Wilhelmina Nesbitt |
St John the Evangelist's Church, Greenock, is located in Union Street, Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. It is an active Anglican church in the Scottish Episcopal Church.[1] It is designated by Historic Environment Scotland as a Category B listed building.[2]
History
[edit]The original church on the site dated from 1824, and by the 1870s it had been decided to replace it with a larger church. A competition was held for its design, but this did not result in a satisfactory outcome. The perpetual curate of the church, Revd Julius Lloyd, recommended the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin, who were given the commission to design the church. It is the only church in Scotland designed by this practice. Building started in 1877 and the church was consecrated on 28 November 1878.[3] It cost a little over £7,000 (equivalent to £860,000 in 2023).[4] Sir Michael Shaw-Stewart gave £1,500 towards its cost, and land to allow enlargement of the original site.[5] In 1890 the successors in the Lancaster practice, Paley, Austin and Paley, designed stalls for the church, and in about 1897–98 the firm (then known as Austin and Paley) were asked to design an additional vestry[6] with the original vestry used as a choir vestry to support the church's eminent choral tradition.
Architecture
[edit]The architectural style is Gothic Revival. The plan of the church consists of a four-bay nave with a clerestory, a chancel with a chapel, and a tower at the southeast corner.[2] Along the sides of the nave are three- and four-light windows.[6] The massive square-plan tower has a slate-covered pyramidal roof, and originally sported four lucarnes. Inside the church the arcades are carried on alternate octagonal and circular piers.[2] The heavily carved rood screen featuring a large number of animals and birds was designed by H. O. Tarbolton, and the font is a copy of a 15th-century font in Suffolk. The pipe organ, originally a house organ belonging to a Mr Robb of Glasgow in the 1850s, was built by J. and A. Mirrlees of Glasgow[7] and substantially rebuilt by that firm in 1914.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ St John the Evangelist, Greenock, Scottish Episcopal Church, retrieved 31 August 2011
- ^ a b c Historic Environment Scotland, "St. John the Evangelist's Episcopal Church, Union Street (Category B Listed Building) (LB34153)", retrieved 20 March 2019
- ^ Brandwood et al. (2012), pp. 109–111
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ Brandwood et al. (2012), p. 230
- ^ a b Brandwood et al. (2012), p. 111
- ^ St John the Evangelist, Greenock, Scotland's Churches Scheme, retrieved 17 October 2012
Bibliography
[edit]- Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, ISBN 978-1-84802-049-8
- Episcopal church buildings in Scotland
- Category B listed buildings in Inverclyde
- Churches completed in 1878
- 19th-century Anglican church buildings in Scotland
- Gothic Revival church buildings in Scotland
- Paley and Austin buildings
- Listed churches in Scotland
- Churches in Inverclyde
- Buildings and structures in Greenock